Building delicious communities in Baltimore

It used to be a derelict location for The Wire. Now it’s a hotspot for fresh local produce and a vehicle for job creation. Here’s a look at the Baltimore Food Hub.

For 30 years residents in East Baltimore lived beside a toxic dump. Piled with tires and rubble, the site was so derelict that it was used as a location on the HBO show “The Wire.” Yet in 2018, it’s becoming a destination: the Baltimore Food Hub, a culinary campus and community park.

Owned by the city for more than 100 years, the site was abandoned in the 1990s. In 2016, American Communities Trust, a Baltimore-based development group, bought the 3.5-acre parcel in hopes of turning it into a center for small food businesses.

The new owners cleaned up the property and removed toxic soil, making it safe to visit and bringing fresh food to an area that was previously short on healthy alternatives to fast food.

Now construction on the historic brick buildings is underway. Within two years, the Baltimore Food Hub will be home to startup food businesses that promote local and regional foods, a small farm, community grills and a green grocer. A brewery and food hall are also in the works.

Today, the community’s first tenant, a social enterprise known as City Seeds, just moved in and has already begun to set an example for what Baltimore Food Hub tenants are capable of providing to their neighbors.